eli5: If vitamins are things considered essential to human life, why is salt not considered a vitamin?

Question

Salt isn’t regularly considered a spice, nor is it discussed as a vitamin like A, B, etc. But isn’t it necessary in small amounts for humans?

In: 402

Answer 1

Vitamins are specifically organic molecules (anything with carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds). Salt is NaCl, so does not qualify.

There are four different types of [essential nutrients](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrient#Essential_nutrients): vitamins, amino acids (protein), fatty acids (omega 3 and omega 6), and minerals. Salt is a mineral. More specifically, sodium and chlorine are minerals (nutritionally), and salt contains both.